


The Gift

by Bolt_DMC



Category: Bolt (2008)
Genre: Afterlife, Art, Drama, F/M, Happy Ending, Literature, Movie Reference, Music, Original Character(s), Post-Canon, Sad, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-10 12:07:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20527775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bolt_DMC/pseuds/Bolt_DMC
Summary: The last one. Time moves on as it must, and Bolt, Mittens, and Rhino ultimately achieve the happiest ending one could imagine. Much is finally explained, including why Bolt and Mittens became a couple, as well as the real story on Rhino and his relationship to his two friends. Primary cultural references include Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" (orchestral suite version) and the Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts," as well as C.S. Lewis’s "Chronicles of Narnia" series, the movie "It's a Wonderful Life," and the song "Pay You Back with Interest" by the Hollies. Though Bolt and Mittens's final cultural binge together would be my choice as well.





	The Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: April 2023-?
> 
> For John B.

Part I: Appalachian Spring

1.

It was 7 am on a lovely April day in the year 2023. Mittens slowly padded across the field from the farmhouse and past the barn. She carried two brightly colored wildflowers in her mouth, something she had done daily for nearly two years now. At her age and in her current state of health, the cat felt no need to hurry.

Her destination lay at the far end of the rural property that had been her home for the past 15 years. It was a pet cemetery that had been set up just across the road three years ago, surrounded by a low white fence. Since Penny’s veterinary practice began, several of those clients who had lost their pets had wanted a place to bury their furred, feathered, and scaly loved ones, and this provided an appropriate venue.

There were only two destinations Mittens wished to see, however. One belonged to the cemetery’s oldest resident, who had inadvertently begun this endeavor -- Rhino the hamster. He had peacefully slipped away at the age of four in 2011 while binge-watching a "Best of ‘Bolt’" marathon on the classic TV channel. The little rodent had been a great friend, unconventional and at times reality-challenged, but staunch and caring as well. Mittens had respected and admired his fearlessness as well as his unique life perspective that often contained shrewd insights. The hamster had helped her several times in the past, among other things compelling her to pursue Bolt to Los Angeles from Las Vegas as well as giving her the courage to declare her love for the dog; Mittens would always be especially grateful for those two things. For the longest time, Rhino’s marker had stood alone in the field across the road, bearing the hamster’s name, dates, and likeness. The rest of the burial ground had simply grown up around him over the last few years. Mittens placed the smaller of the two wildflowers at the foot of his gravestone.

Her final destination was the memorial to Rhino’s left. The little white shepherd dog, her dear, sweet Wags, her lover for eleven years and best friend for several more, rested peacefully here and had done so since 2021. Despite their differences, the dog and cat had fully enjoyed their time together on many levels -- black and white, yin and yang, cynicism and optimism, cool intellect and emotional intensity all complemented each other perfectly, while the similarities they shared only served to cement their feelings for one another. Her relationship with him had been incredibly rich and fulfilling. She loved his vigor, his adventurousness, his determination, and his strength of character. Mittens had also cherished his passion for culture, his kindness, his warmth, and his willingness to put those he cared about first without the slightest hesitancy. He had exuded a virile sexiness that melted her heart. Sure, the shepherd had been a little naïve, often a tad eccentric, sometimes awkward, at times humor-challenged, and occasionally a bit befuddled, but that had just endeared him to Mittens all the more. Bolt was by far the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she knew her life would have been much poorer without him.

Like Rhino’s, the pooch’s headstone contained his name, dates, and likeness (she ignored the marker to Bolt’s left, which would be hers very soon). Over time, fans of the show had discovered the location of the dog’s gravesite online and it had begun to attract mementos from visitors, mostly flowers and pennies. The cat placed her other wildflower in front of his memorial and sighed heavily.

2.

Tears welled up in Mitten’s eyes as she thought of their last day together. It had been much like any other, yet still was special in its way.

They had leisurely gotten up that morning and slowly ambled to the kitchen to eat breakfast, which was waiting in bowls for them alongside full water dishes. A particularly satisfying lovemaking session behind the house had followed. Mittens remembered it being especially enjoyable, making a quip suggesting that Bolt had obtained a potent prescription of little blue pills. Given their advanced age, a lengthy nap seemed the most appropriate follow-up, spooning each other on the sun-dappled front porch.

The session of shared art and culture after they awoke was something the cat would always hold dear. They had looked through Bolt’s picture books of treasures from The Louvre and The Prado while wearing color glasses. They had read poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson, and e.e. cummings to each other. The main focus, though, had been a full concert's worth of fine classical orchestral selections: Samuel Barber's haunting and lovely "Adagio for Strings," Ludwig van Beethoven's dancing and joyous Seventh Symphony (its funeral march slow movement providing a soulful contrast), Antonin Dvorak's warm and ardent Cello Concerto, and Igor Stravinsky's powerful and invigorating "Rite of Spring."

Penny’s lunch break from her veterinary practice came much later than usual, and she spent it playing a relatively subdued game of "fetch the stick" with the elderly pooch while Mittens watched several yards distant. It was one of the dog's favorite ways to spend time with his master, though given that he was now eighteen years old, his participation for the most part was limited to trotting rather than running. At about 3 pm, Bolt suddenly collapsed after dropping the stick at Penny’s feet. Mittens dashed to hug the stricken little shepherd tight, while Penny sweetly cradled the dying dog’s head and whispered, "You’re my good boy. I'll miss you, and I’ll always love you… " Woman and cat both cried as Bolt breathed his last.

3.

It would be her final visit outside, as Mittens was terminally ill with kidney failure, a common aged feline malady. Penny, Joe, and even Mittens herself all knew the cat had little time left, and her owners endeavored to make her as comfortable as possible. A couple weeks later, a now-pregnant Penny quietly held the nearly-comatose Mittens on her lap after a long clinic day. The woman knew the cat enjoyed music, and to the latter's delight had selected Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," the orchestral suite version, to listen to. The piece had become a favorite for Mittens, partly because it's a fine work, but also because aspects of the composition resonated strongly with her. Born in Brooklyn, Copland was as urban East-coast as any other Gothamite. Yet (with all due respect to such fine works as the Piano Variations and Quartet for Piano and Strings) some of his most telling pieces, "Appalachian Spring," "Billy the Kid," "Rodeo," "Lincoln Portrait," "Our Town," and "Fanfare for the Common Man," exude a strong connection to the American heartland -- something that closely mirrored Mittens’s life experience. This particular work, originally written as a ballet, tells the story of a young couple who move to the Pennsylvania frontier to set up a life together while interacting with their rural neighbors. Consisting of alternating warm slow and energetic fast sections, there's a splendid, life-affirming feel to the music, with an especially memorable set of variations on the old Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts" as a highlight.

Mittens lay still, listening intently to the music. As the transcendent final slow section wound to a close, ending with its last few soft glints of sound, the cat slowly drifted from consciousness while seeing her life leisurely unfold from kittenhood in a Manhattan shelter to her last day in the farmhouse. "I don't know where I'm going, if anyplace," Mittens thought. "But I guess I'll find out really soon." She shuddered silently, then exhaled for the final time, passing away peacefully on Penny’s lap.

Part II: Simple Gifts

1.

Mittens slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Everything surrounding her was dark. It appeared she was most likely in a tunnel, but exactly what kind she couldn't say. The cat tried to turn back, but a reverse gravity-like force kept her from doing so.

"This reminds me of the unused subway pedestrian crossover in Manhattan I got stranded in once. Boy, I must have been one bad kitty to be stuck in here for an afterlife," she thought.

The tunnel didn't feel ominous or stifling, though, the more she sat in it. In fact, there was something warm and peaceful here Mittens couldn't quite put a paw on. Her eyes quickly got used to the darkness, and it was then that the cat saw a small circle of light in the distance.

"Something tells me that's where I should be headed," she mused. "No point in hanging around here, regardless."

The circle of light grew larger as she walked along, finally opening into a large, bright area that seemed to defy dimension. There were more creatures of all kinds than she had ever seen before. Humans, dogs, cats, hamsters, pigeons, mice, spiders, snakes, ladybugs, earthworms, crabs, sparrows, newts -- every possible animal from Noah’s Ark and beyond was there. Mittens noticed that they seemed to congregate in one of two locations. On her left, the majority of beings patiently stood in front of a raft of escalators, disappearing downward once they got on. To her right, a smaller number of hopefuls waited in lines that led to a series of what looked rather like grocery store checkout stations. No one was directing them -- they just instinctually seemed to know where they belonged.

Mittens’s inclination was to head for the grocery store checkout area. "Wonder if they've got an express lane," she thought with a grin. "Got only one item, and that's me." She chose a line that appeared shorter than the rest and sat patiently. The cat had often been a "Type A" sort in life, but for some reason she didn't seem to mind waiting just now. In fact, Mittens felt more at peace than she had ever felt. There was just something about this place that seemed to wash away the unhappiness and harsh edges that had once colored her life, and had continued to be a part of her psyche down deep.

Eventually, she reached the check-in counter, staffed by a female dodo bird. "Hi there," said Mittens hopefully. "With any luck, I've picked the right option. I mean, there were a lot of critters over at those down escalators, and I… "

"Hi -- I’m Maisie and I’ll be your greeter today," the bird responded, acknowledging Mittens’s words with a sage nod. "So, what did your instincts tell you? They're right around here, wherever they may lead you. If it felt reasonable to head this way, that's your answer."

"Gotcha," said the cat. "Oh, was just curious -- are you a real dodo? I saw a special on TV once. It said all you guys got killed off several centuries ago."

"Sure am," chuckled Maisie. "When one of us earth extincts has to man the entrance, it usually surprises the newbies. You can imagine what happens when it's the T-Rexes’ turn to participate. Makes those incoming herbivores pretty nervous, as you might guess -- but nobody eats or drinks anything here, and our rougher emotions disappear or are smoothed down to harmless. Puts their minds more at ease when they find that out."

"I noticed that about the rougher emotions when I got here," said Mittens. "I was Madame Irreverent when I was on earth. Haven't gotten the urge to be as cutting, for some reason."

"Oh yeah," the dodo concurred. "You don't lose your personality, just its worst excesses. Things would be really dull around here if everyone were entirely the same. Kinda like back on earth."

"So, what is this place, anyway?" asked the cat. "Is it Heaven?"

"We get asked that a lot by the newcomers, especially the Christians and Western World humans. To answer your question -- sort of. But there'll be folks inside who’ll fill you in on the details. Now, let's see," Maisie said as she looked at a large screen in front of her and squinted intently. "You should be on today's incoming list. What's your name?"

"Mittens," the cat replied.

"Just a minute… oh, here you are." The bird looked at the entry in front of her, and a big smile crept across her beak. "I thought so. You know, you're a bit of a legend around here. It's a pleasure to meet you, and if I may say, an honor to be the one to check you in."

Mittens looked puzzled. "Sure you're not looking at the entry for Hercules? Somehow, I can't imagine that little old me did anything very significant back on earth."

Maisie laughed. "Yeah, it says you're a lively one in your entry, too. It'll be fun having you up here. But you'll discover that legends take lots of forms. Anyway, you'll find out more once you're past me." The dodo reached out and tapped the screen with a wing. "Okay, that should do it. You’re checked in, fully present and accounted for. Go on through, you're all set."

The cat looked ahead, but couldn't tell where to go from here. "What do I do now?" she asked. "Aren’t you supposed to issue me a halo and a harp or something?"

"Just walk through and look up," said the dodo, pointing behind her. "You see that ridge at the top? All you have to do is hop up to it."

"Hop? Up there?" Mittens gulped incredulously. She could see the ridge, but it seemed to be at least a hundred feet high. "How do I manage that? I didn't bring my wings with me, I'm afraid."

Maisie shook her head. "Don't worry. Once you get this far in, you'll be surprised what you're able to do. Just close your eyes, imagine you can jump that high, and then do it. Trust me — I’m a flightless bird, and if I can manage it, it'll be a cakewalk for you."

"Well, okay," said the cat. "You've been here a while, and I'm the new kid on the block. I had a little trouble with trust back on earth. Guess I shouldn't worry so much about it."

The bird smiled. "You'll be fine. Besides, I've got more folks to check in. That line behind you won't disappear by itself. There are limits to magic, even here. See you inside, most likely."

"Okay, thanks!" replied Mittens.

The cat walked slowly past the dodo and looked up. "All right," she thought. "Trust… trust… I can do this… I can do this… " Mittens closed her eyes and tried to picture the ledge as her favorite observation perch back at the farmhouse. She hunkered down and wriggled her haunches to get the weight balanced just right before launching herself into a literal leap of faith. To her surprise, Mittens hurtled upward; it was almost as if she were flying. Remarkably, it seemed to take no effort on her part at all.

2.

The cat landed gracefully onto a vast, dazzling expanse that seemed to have no real beginning or end. There were thousands, maybe millions of creatures in front of her. They were all milling around and chatting, but stopped once they saw Mittens, looking at her with huge smiles on their faces.

Saying the cat was surprised would have been an understatement. "What?" she thought. "I've got a stream of toilet paper stuck to my foot or something?" To her utter amazement, the beings in front of her suddenly begin to shout, cheer, and clap raucously, doing so for several minutes.

"Well, it can't be my birthday. That happened a couple months ago," Mittens thought. "But like everything else odd around here, I have a feeling there'll be a good explanation." She grinned and waved tentatively in embarrassed thanks.

It was then that she saw what she had hoped for more than anything else. Something broke free from the crowd and dashed in her direction like a white streak of furry energy. A smaller, golden-brown ball of fuzz bounced precariously between its shoulders and complained with each step. "Careful, you crazy nut! I want to see her, too!" it said.

"Mittens! Mittens!" yelled the white streak as it excitedly approached.

A smiling Bolt skidded to a stop directly in front of the cat. Rhino sat astride the dog’s neck, clapping his paws together gleefully. "Long time no see, eh?" laughed the hamster as he jumped off the shepherd and ran forward.

Mittens took the little rodent in her paws and hugged him. "Wow -- haven't laid eyes on you in, what, twelve earth years is it?" she said. "Never forgot you, though. I owe you a hearty thanks. My life wouldn't have been the same without you."

"The felines are mutual -- even though I’m not a cat," Rhino quipped. "But listen, I'm keeping you from your soulmate -- your one true love, forever and always. And I'm not one to stand in the way of that kind of progress." He hopped out of the cat’s paws, landed nimbly on the ground, and stepped to one side with a flourish.

Bolt and Mittens looked at each other fondly and smiled, each with an expression on their face of sheer joy leavened with relief and contentment. They reached out to each other and hugged, the dog whimpering with happiness.

"I've missed you," said Mittens softly. "It was a hard couple years without you. But you’re here and I'm so glad. I was hoping you might be."

"You have no idea how happy I am right now," whispered Bolt fervently. "I knew it was only going to be two more years before I saw you again, but it seemed like forever. I love you, Mittens. So, so much."

The cat nodded. "I love you too, Bolt. There's no one else like you. You're the best." Dog and cat held each other for several minutes before they mutually decided to release.

"Wow -- you know, I’ve got lots of questions to ask you guys," Mittens said. "Like, for starters, where am I?"

"You’re in Nirvana," Rhino replied. "It works like this. We hold our species type and go through several lives on earth, learning lessons of one kind or another along the way until we reach perfection and break free of the Karmic Wheel. And it's in that last persona that you spend eternity here. You probably saw the folks off to the left when you came in, am I correct?"

The cat nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering about that."

The hamster continued. "They had just finished resting up a bit and were heading back down to earth, being reincarnated to learn something new in their next life. They haven't evolved fully yet. Sometimes, it only takes a few turns -- and sometimes, especially when you've done really evil things and broken your pledge, it can take a lot of trips. But when you finally achieve your state of bliss, you come here to stay. It's quite the reward, let me tell you. We love it here, and I'll bet you will, too."

"You and I were on our last trip to earth, assuming we did as we should," said Bolt. "We both had chosen similar lessons to assimilate -- faith, trust, and patience. But we also each had one topic that was ours alone. In my case, it was tolerance. When we first met, I had a horrible hatred of cats, a nasty prejudice against them. I'm really ashamed of myself about that, but I needed to come to terms with it. Thanks to you, I did."

Mittens thought a second. "What was the other lesson I needed to learn?" she asked.

Bolt smiled affectionately. "Love -- unconditional love. Being a dog, I had gotten that one down long ago, but you needed to learn it to become a complete being. I'm honored to have been the one to teach it to you, too. Took a little while, I must admit, but you assimilated it just fine."

"Interesting," said the cat. "So what about you, Rhino?"

The hamster laughed. "Me? Actually, my role was a bit different. You probably don’t remember this, but everyone up here at that point sure did. When it came time for you to head back down and learn your lesson on unconditional love, you chose a really unorthodox way to handle it. Nobody had ever tried it, either, and nobody may ever do it again for all we know. You decided that the best way to make the lesson stick was to choose a soulmate out of your species type. After all, who knows the concept better than a dog? And that's the way you decided to go. It took some doing, but Bolt agreed to be your soulmate -- if you could complete the task successfully. Happy to say, you passed with flying colors, and that’s why you got the big cheering reception when you arrived. It took real courage for you to do it that way. Bolt, too. He received a similar chorus of ‘For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow’ when he arrived in Nirvana."

Mittens shook her head. "No wonder. I must have been nuts to suggest it. But hey, I got Wags as my soulmate out of it. Totally, totally worth it. Anyway, you were getting to your role in all this, I think."

"Oh yeah," said Rhino. "Anyway, I had already completed my Karmic run long ago. Got a great girl for a soulmate, too -- the sweetest little hamster named Goldie. Sometimes, though, we fully-evolved sorts decide it’d be fun to head back down to earth and serve as facilitators for those with especially challenging issues. I remember when you and Bolt made your weird pact, and I couldn’t resist volunteering. Keeping you two from straying too far away from the prize -- well, let me tell you, I drew real pleasure from that. You remember the movie ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, don’t you? I was kinda like Clarence, the guardian angel for you two. Only I didn’t get wings or anything if I succeeded -- just the satisfaction of knowing I helped two beings reach completion. I had to be the goofy one of our little trio, though -- didn't want to give myself away too obviously, just push you guys along. You had to learn your lessons for yourselves, after all. No cheating allowed, I’m afraid." 

"Sounds like Karma plays a big role here, best as I can see," reflected Mittens. "So now I'm curious -- that terrible family that first adopted me in Brooklyn, was that payback for bad juju in a previous life?"

"Not in this case," the hamster replied. "Believe it or not, you chose to start with them before you were born, all the better to learn the lessons necessary. You needed a bad basis to work from, and boy, did you ever get one. See, told you -- you really did make it challenging for yourself."

The cat sat and thought, taking all this in as a tune began to float into her head. It was the Hollies song "Pay You Back with Interest," appropriately enough. "Huh," she mused. "I guess earworms are a part of life up here, too. No complaints, though. As long as it's not tapeworms in my stomach or something like that."

"Well, look. You and Bolt have some serious reacquainting time coming to you, and I need to get back to Goldie. We’ll have all the time in the world to talk and have fun together. Be seein’ you!" With that, Rhino scuttled off to find his soulmate.

"Bye," said the cat. "See you real soon."

Mittens smiled warmly at the little shepherd. "So tell me, what's this place like, anyway? It sure seems friendly and interesting."

"It's great," the dog responded. "There are scads and scads of beings here. They can all talk, and everybody understands each other. The humans know what we’re saying up here, too, believe it or not. And everyone's so fascinating -- all the creatures I've met are really interesting and nice. I spent yesterday talking with a stag beetle and the day before that with a giant salamander. Everyone, even the lowest form of life, has their unique take on the world and a wealth of remarkable experiences. I’ve found it especially fun to chat with the long-extincts -- dinosaurs, mammoths, pterosaurs, sabretooth cats, dire wolves. The worlds they knew vanished so long ago, and it really jostles the imagination to hear about life in Jurassic era forests and on Ice Age tundras."

"Yeah, I got a taste of that. A dodo was the one who checked me in. Nice bird, too," Mittens replied. "Are there lots of religious folks here?"

"Some, but not as many as you might think," said Bolt. "Only the live and let live types are here. Zealots and heavy-duty missionary sorts and those intolerant of others regardless of faith are the first to cycle back down the escalator, so I hear. But yeah, there are lots of human Muslims and Christians and Jews and so forth in Nirvana. Funny story -- you know C.S. Lewis, the guy who wrote the Narnia book series?"

"Sure do," nodded the cat. "I remember well that one long weekend when the four of us were determined to get through all seven books. That was quite the marathon."

Bolt grinned. "He’s up here, and I was talking with him a couple weeks ago. Was telling me how horribly disappointed he was to discover that the afterlife wasn’t a Christian heaven. Probably was the only semi-unhappy creature in Nirvana back then. But he grew to accept it, and said he wouldn't have it any other way now."

"Will Penny and Joe be coming too?" asked Mittens.

"They're scheduled to, assuming they don't foul something up," he replied. "They’ll be a little while, though -- about 60 years or so. They've got a family to raise and great earth experiences ahead of them. But it'll be wonderful to see them again."

"I understand we don't need to eat or drink anything," said Mittens. "Do we get to experience any cultural or intellectual stuff? I know I'm gonna have a hankering for some good music sooner or later."

"Absolutely. It's one of the best things about this place, actually," the pooch explained. "All you have to do is imagine it and you experience it. A Monteverdi madrigal? A Titian painting? The Amber Room? A Jane Austen novel? A Buster Keaton film? You can enjoy it all, under ideal circumstances, even things that vanished from earth for one reason or another. And all knowledge can be found, too -- whatever your intellectual or artistic passion, it’s yours to call up."

"How about sex?" the cat asked.

Bolt cocked his head quizzically. "Well… sure, if you'd like to," said the dog. "Though I kinda wanted to fill you in on stuff around here first."

"No, no -- I meant do beings have sex here?" laughed Mittens. "Though I guess you indirectly answered my question, didn’t you."

"Oh -- sorry. Looks like I misunderstood you, huh? Heh -- same old silly me," chuckled the pooch. "Well, actually, we’re encouraged to do so, even though it's a base physical desire. Keeps our soulmate bonds strong. And I don't know if you noticed, but we’re returned to prime peak adulthood when we come here. I've been just like a five year old pup since arriving. One more thing, if you’re not already aware of it. You've got your claws back!"

The cat gasped in astonishment. "Oh my dog! I can't believe it! I’m whole again!" Mittens looked at her paws and smiled broadly with happiness. "This place just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"

Bolt sat down next to the cat and placed his front leg around her shoulder in a warm embrace. "I knew you were coming today. Couldn't wait, and neither could Rhino, for that matter. So glad you're finally here."

"Last thing I remembered was listening to ‘Appalachian Spring’ by Aaron Copland. You know it?" the cat asked.

"Sure do," he said thoughtfully. "Nice piece to have for an exit, isn't it? Got that great set of variations on ‘Simple Gifts’ too, if I remember right." Bolt smiled and began to sing softly:

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free,  
‘Tis a gift to come down where you ought to be,

Mittens closed her eyes and quietly joined him in song:

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,  
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,  
To bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed,  
To turn, turn, will be our delight,  
‘Til by turning, turning we come round right.

They sat silently, taking in everything they could see for several minutes.

"It’s beautiful here, isn’t it," said Mittens.

"Yes, it is," Bolt replied. "And I can’t wait to show you everything. We’ve got all eternity ahead of us."


End file.
